Hardest (But Fairest) Player Ever Seen....

[Krule]

I'm going to give you two possible choices here ...the hardest Spurs player together with simply the hardest player you have ever seen on a pitch. If the two match then so be it....for me it has to be :

Tottenham..........Dave Mackay.....The guy was a colossus on the pitch...as a youngster I was in total awe...

All Time...........Graeme Souness.....forget about his modern role as a football pundit...as a footballer this guy could impose himself against any opposition. I have watched this man 'tame' many an attack within the first 15 minutes of a game. A solid rock of a defender who at times seemed impervious of pain.

So....let's have your pick....and it would be great if you could choose players that you have actually seen play....

 

[Col_M]

Disagree with Souness, he was dirty but in a Liverpool shirt that seemed to make him invisible to referees.

 

[Krule]

Disagree with Souness, he was dirty but in a Liverpool shirt that seemed to make him invisible to referees.

Okay we'll settle for dirty but 'clever'...... your choices then please....

 

[Sum Monsterism]

I enjoyed seeing Edgar Davids put Ray Parlour eight foot in the air (home debut?) - that wasn't even a booking iirc...

 

[michaelden]

Cannavaro, small but impenetrable.

King, deserved better knees and a better CB partner

 

[michaelden]

for midfielders I'd say Gerard had an aura about him in his prime. Carried LIverpool

Makelele/ Davids/ Stephen Appiah/ Effenberg - each were the base the rest of their team mates played off

 

[UncleBuck]

Stuart Pearce.

 

[littlewilly]

Norman Hunter (by a country mile).

 

[Insomnia]

Pat Van Den Howe or Graham Roberts in a Spurs shirt
Stuart Pearce non Spurs

 

[Led's Zeppelin]

Mackay obviously.

Was genuinely as hard if not harder than anyone I've ever seen.

But all those who might, vainly, be compared with him like Pearce, Hunter and so on we're vastly inferior footballers. I hate seeing relatively unskillful players being mentioned in the same breath. Mackay was simply on a different level to these pretenders.

 

[montylynch]

Always remember a cup tie up at Forest, probably early 90's. Stuart Pearce and Pat van den Hauwe launching into a tackle, apparently you could hear it from the moon. Epic.

 

[littlewilly]

Mackay obviously.

Was genuinely as hard if not harder than anyone I've ever seen.

But all those who might, vainly, be compared with him like Pearce, Hunter and so on we're vastly inferior footballers. I hate seeing relatively unskillful players being mentioned in the same breath. Mackay was simply on a different level to these pretenders.

Mackay was better than Hunter on many, many levels I agree. Hunter was just so extraordinary though - 'bite your legs' would seemingly smash through you but always end up having the ball on his instep. Fantastic character - stuff of legends.

 

[jamesinashby]

Mackay obviously.

Was genuinely as hard if not harder than anyone I've ever seen.

But all those who might, vainly, be compared with him like Pearce, Hunter and so on we're vastly inferior footballers. I hate seeing relatively unskillful players being mentioned in the same breath. Mackay was simply on a different level to these pretenders.

After leaving the Army, I settled in Derby and used to watch some games at the old baseball ground when Mackay was skipper. He was brave and tough and I can honestly say he was never 'dirty' or unsportsmanlike - a true giant in the game. During his career he suffered a broken leg and twice he came back as brave and as good as ever.

I had the privilege to meet up with him on several occasions in pub he used. A nicer and more modest guy you could never meet. You are so right in saying those other 'cloggers' are just not in his league.

COYS

 

[Pellshek]

He's not exactly "hard", so much as 100% & full blooded, but Pablo Zabaletta has been one of my favourite players of the PL era because of his competitiveness, but at the same time because I honestly can't remember him putting in a nasty challenge over all these many years. Exemplary.

 

[Insomnia]

Always remember a cup tie up at Forest, probably early 90's. Stuart Pearce and Pat van den Hauwe launching into a tackle, apparently you could hear it from the moon. Epic.

I was there, it was a 50/50 on the half way line, they smashed into each other, the ball went 100 foot in the air, they were both hurt but got up and limped off not wanting to show the other one they were hurt. The crowd held their collective breath as they ran into the tackle. Legendary

 

[DiscoD1882]

Glenn Hoddle. Nails!

 

[Spurs 1961]

Dave Mackay always. Though Greavsie is my favourite all time Spurs player Mackay is probably the best all around player. As hard as nails but a glorious footballer

 

[ohtottenham!]

I remember watching Colin Todd against us a few times. Solid as a rock; couldn't get past him. Imposing without being nasty. Also couldn't be intimidated.

Disagree with the Souness shout. Remember Crooks sorting him out after Souness stepped all over Hoddle. Also remember Stevie P chasing Souness around the WHL pitch for most of a game after Souness did a nasty on one of ours, can't remember who. The whole ground was cheering Stevie 'cause it was so obvious what was going on. Souness was reduced to one touch passes, didn't want to keep possession.

 

[mark87]

I enjoyed seeing Edgar Davids put Ray Parlour eight foot in the air (home debut?) - that wasn't even a booking iirc...

That's a bit of a stretch, David's just stood up while parlour was standing over him and it parlour just fell on his arse.

 

[ohtottenham!]

That's a bit of a stretch, David's just stood up while parlour was standing over him and it parlour just fell on his arse.

So you're saying it was a parlour trick?